Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
Iuly 28. 2004
M etro / S ports
exclusive
Uh ÿlortÎanh (©bseruer
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C
SECTION
o ni ni u n i i
a l e n cl a
Hoopin’ It Up
This two-day basketball clinic
on July 29 -3 0 from 8:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m . at T h e H oop
Vancouver stresses the impor­
tance of correct shooting form
It will focus on stationary shoot­
ing. shooting off o f screens and
shooting on the move. Ages 9 to
14 are encouraged to attend. For
more information, please call 360-
260-2088.
PHOTO BY
M ark W ashington /
V
T he P ortiani )
O bserver
Alberta Farm Market
P roviding healthy, affordable,
high quality food, the A lberta
C oop erativ e G rocery offers
seasonal produce from local
grow ers, ready-to-eat food and
w eekly entertainm ent. Open
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily,
located on 1500 NE A lberta
Street. For m ore inform ation,
call 503-287-4333.
Attention Bookworms!
C ontact the nearest public li­
brary near you and take ad­
vantage o f fun sum m er read­
ing program s open to all ages
or take free com p uter classes.
L e a rn a b o u t e - m a il, w eb
searching, spreadsheets, word
processing and m ore. To learn
m ore, visit online at http://
w w w .m ultcolib.org.
Writing Seminar
Free your writing spirit with a
free writing workshop by Write
Around Portland through Aug.
12 at locations in and around
north Portland. To register or
contribute, call 503-796-9224.
Interest in Adoption?
A free information meeting for
prospective adoptive parents is
held the third W ednesday of
every month from 7 to 8 :3 0 p.m.
at Belmont Public Library, 1038
S.E. 39lh Ave. For more informa­
tion, call 503-226-4870 or visit
www.openadopt.com.
Stay Healthy
S ankofaa H ealth Institute of­
fers a free diabetes support
group from 6 to 7:30 p.m. every
th ird T h u rs d a y at A lb e rta
Simmons Plaza, 6707 N.E. Mar-
tin L uther King Jr. Blvd. For
more information, call 503-285-
2484.
Work For Change
Community Advocates invites
those interested in protecting
children from abuse to become
an event volunteer, event out­
re a c h , te c h n o lo g y e x p e rt,
graphic artists or office support
team member. For more informa­
tion, call 503-280-1388.
Home Improvement
The Com munity Energy Project
holds free workshops on water
conservation and w eatheriza­
tion. For more information, call
NBA
Slam
Duns
Ctiamplpn gives
one-on-one
advice
adopt
snooting
Inside
me
Key
to
Big
B rem e, Big S ister participant.
Super Star Shares Love and Basketball
Slam-dunk champion
gives back to
childhood community
by J ohanna S. K ing /
T he P ortland O bserver
“Everyone move together," yells Freddy
Jones, guard tor the Indiana Pacers and
Portland native. “Work as a team to put the
ball in the basket and it makes everybody
look and feel good.”
A kick off to his weekend o f basketball
festivities, Jones spent an afternoon hang­
ing out with kids of the Big Brother Big Sister
program at Irving Park in northeast Portland.
The clinic, sponsored by NikeGO, was
geared toward giving young people the
opportunity o f learning more about the game
they love from a professional athlete. Jones
supports the sport, but also sheds light on
the importance of becoming a well -rounded
young person.
“Basketball is only a part of the picture,”
he says. “T here’s a lot more than ju st the
glam our and fame the game has to offer. I’d
rather be a good person versus a good ball
player any day.”
As part o f his first Freddy Jones Summer
Slam weekend benefiting Big Brothers and
Big Sisters of Portland, the NBA star shows
youngsters the game as it's played on the
court among fellow pro athletes.
Jones hopes to get kids active through
his weekend of action packed events and
show them that although basketball is fun,
other things like going to school and w ork­
ing hard to get good grades is even more
important to becoming a successful indi­
vidual.
Big Brothers Big Sisters tries to help in the
development o f children across M etropoli­
tan Portland, including innercity youth who
often know more intimately about challenge
and adversity. Adult volunteers, called Big
Brothers and Big Sisters spend several hours
per week with their little sis or broas not only
a triend, but as a mentor who genuinely
cares.
"Kids need that special attention and
personal time with an adult who can serve as
a trusted friend and positive role model,”
said program, director Lynn Thompson. “It’s
continued
yf
on page H2
PENINSULA ADVANCES TO REGIONAL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Boy s all-star baseball team wins state tournament and earns advancement
The P eninsula Junior
B aseball team , coached
by Bryan Butcher S r„ ce l­
ebrates their state cham ­
pionship victory against
Jefferson C ounty w ith a
I 9 to 10 win.
O ne thing is for ce r­
tain, when these 13 and
14 y ear olds from P enin­
sula Junior Baseball Team
gath er tog eth er on the
field, they know how to
play ball.
The P eninsula b o y 's
team won both district
and state tournam en ts,
e a r n in g th e n e x t a d ­
vancem ent o f playing for
the 2004 regional title.
The all-star team in ­
clu d es: A lex B en n ett-
M e ls o n ,
D eS haw n
B la c k n a ll,
A n d re
K .
I
503-2844962.
B ro a d o u s , B ry a n (B J )
B u tc h e r, P a u l G ib s o n ,
D w a y n e (D J ) L in c o ln ,
M arco s M o n ta s, S h aw n
R ic h e y , T h e ro n S e g a r,
D arius Strickland.
T h e W e st C o a st R e ­
gional T o u rn am en t w ill be
held in F o rest G ro v e start
ing on W ed n esd ay , A u ­
g u st 4 to A ug. 11. T ea m s
re p re s e n tin g
A la s k a ,
W a sh in g to n , C a lifo rn ia
Id ah o , M o n tan a, N ev ad a,
A riz o n a , W y o m in g and
H aw aii w ill all be in a tte n ­
d ance. T he w in n in g team s
w ill not o n ly tak e ho m e a
g ig a n tic tro p h y , but w ill
also be in v ited to c o m p e te
in the Ju n io r L ittle L eague
W o r ld S e r i e s h e ld in
T ay lo r, M ich ig an A u g u st
1 5 -2 1
NAACP Meetings
The Portland Branch o f the
NAACP holds two monthly ex­
ecutive com mittee meetings, on
the second T hursday o f the
month and the T hursday be­
fore the fourth Saturday o f the
month. G eneral m em bership
m eetings are held on the fourth
Saturday o f each month. For
more information, call 503-284-
7722.
Tennis
Aquatic Fitness
Providence has a full schedule
o f fitness classes including w a­
ter exercising at the Providence
Aquatic Center, 4805 N.E.GIisan.
Fora schedule, call 503-215-6301.
Women Speak
Women have a voice at W omen
in NAACP, a new w om en's
group, meeting from 10:30 a.m.
to 1 p.m. the first Saturday of
each month at the American Red
C ro ss B u ild in g . 3131 N.
Vancouver. For questions, call
503-249-6263.
Novice
playing
P a rk .
tennis enth usiast learns
technique
at
Irving
by J aymee R. C m /
T he P orti . and O bserver
Texas 16-year-old tennis Super Cham ­
pion is visiting Portland for the summer to
help teach tikes about the game.
Forrest “Andy" Jenkins got his first racket
at age 3 and his life hasn't been the same
since then.
A Houston resident, entering his junior
year at Worthing High School, Jenkins de­
votes as much energy into athletics as aca­
demics. He took his college entry exams at
age 12 and would like to study mathematics
in college; possibly engineering or geom ­
etry.
He also has ambitions to be a profes­
sional tennis player.
His local coach, Don Johnson, founder
and director o f Kids 'N ' Tennis, which is
currently running sum m er clinics in north­
east Portland, says those dreams can be
realized if he starts getting the national at-
on the Brain
tention he deserves.
“H e's an all court player and that’s the kind
o f player that you want to have. He’s multi­
dimensional," Johnson said.
Jenkins has won five tournaments, and
recently played in the Al Edwards M en's
Open Juneteenth Classics. He was the only
youngster in the event.
Besides spending his summers visiting his
Dad in Portland, Jenkins has volunteered
with Kids ‘N ’ Tennis since the age of 12.
“I just love tennis. This is what 1 do," said
Jenkins, who also enjoys video games and
watching track and basketball.
Jenkins practices tennis six days each week.
With his commitment and well-rounded ap­
proach to the sport and his life, his coach is
confident he'll rival tennis greats in two or
three years.
“Having an all court game means having
the mind to match." said Johnson.
Forrest "Andy" Jenkins prepares to
return a serve.